My kids (almost 7 and 5) are obsessed with listening to audio
books. My oldest is technologically savvy enough to turn on our
ipod, find what she wants to hear, etc. She can also use the kid
CD player easily. This independence is great, but I'm wondering
what other parents think about this. They will just sit and
listen listen listen listen and get very focused on it. It's not
visual of course, like the tv or computer, but they do get
transfixed in a similar way. My take on it is that it is really
great, that they like to listen, etc. but curious to hear others'
thoughts. Thanks much.
Different Mama

My first instinct was to wonder whether it gets in the way of
them reading to themselves, since you don't want the ease of
listening to keep them from doing their own independent reading.
Even if that's not the case, it's still possible it's keeping
them from having a balance of activities--only you know if that's
the case. Last summer our daughter ''discovered'' reading and
spent all her free time with a book. At times, we thought it
verged on too much, because no matter how fabulous books (or,
perhaps, audiobooks) are, there are other things in life.
Luckily for us we didn't need to resort to strict limits on
reading (!) and this summer she's seeming more balanced--lots of
reading and lots of other playing.
reader's mom
My own daughter loved audio books and went to sleep listening to
one almost every night for years, gradually working her way from
Harry Potter to Dylan Thomas. She, too, could listen for hours at
a time on weekends or vacation. And it's far better, of course,
that your kids are entranced by good stories than by endless
television. I think it's all a matter of balance. Do they get
outside and run around? Do they have hobbies and other interests?
Participate in sports? Play with other children?

You might experiment with telling your girls that they may listen
for an hour (or for two sides of a tape, one disk, five chapters,
whatever), then it's time for lunch and a trip to the park or
something, and more stories that afternoon. Or that listening for
hours on end is something they may do one day a week. Another
possibility is saying, ''Listen for an hour, and then we'll do a
craft project about the story or go outside and act out the story.''

(If they're listening so intently to a particular book, the story
probably means something important to them. It would be
interesting to know what this might be. Books can provide mental
and emotional nourishment, and perhaps your girls are at a
developmental stage where they especially need this.)
Melanie

count your blessings and listen in. That's what I'd do.
Hi! The key information missing on your post is if they enjoy
reading and/or if their reading skills are at grade level.
Listening to a story shouldn't take the place of independent
reading time or reading time with mom or dad and a print source
in front of them. You might also consider having them read
along in a print version of the book, as the story is being
told. This technique can be really wonderful for reluctant
readers or auditory learners. If they enjoy reading as well as
the listening, I see no problems! Plus I imagine that it makes
long car trips fly by. Just be sure to regulate the volume and
maybe set a time limit so that their ears get a break to rest
from the constant noise, just like you would if they were
listening to music.
Bookworm

I read a post through BPN a couple of months ago recommending a few wonderful storytelling cds. I
ordered them through Amazon but something happened to the order. I can't seem to remember the names of
the artists. We will be travelling with our 2 year old son this summer and would love to bring the cds
along. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your
help!
onika

My kids and I are avid story listeners. When they're done well, they're fantastic. My kids'
vocabulary and sentence structure owe a lot to good books read well and listened to several
times.
For toddlers, I would recommend:
Beatrix Potter
Winnie-the-Pooh
Any of the Rabbit Ears series - NPR series done several years ago, read by actors (who do
it well), combined with music by well-known artists (which adds atmosphere without
distracting).
They cover traditional tales from around the world.
Our family enjoyed them when we got them at the library on cassette with the book to
accompany, but now they compile several on one CD.
(I just had a look on Amazon - I'm going to buy several!)

In a year or two, I would add:
Roald Dahl (you can get a lot of them read by the author himself)
Harry Potter
Beverly Cleary books
almost anything read by Jim Weiss
Joel Ben-Izzy (local Jewish storyteller - funny, touching, thought-provoking)
Bill Harley - stories and songs (loads at local library)

Definitely try a variety at your local library. There are sooo many good recordings of
traditional tales told by really good storytellers which are great for any age.
And for younger children, there are loads of books with the cds. ''I, Crocodile'' is one
that stands out for me as especially good. And I find the Frog and Toad series very
soothing - so simple and sweet.
Alas, I find the Cam Jansen and Magic Treehouse series painful - read by the authors, who,
frankly don't do it well.
-Love Books in All Forms!

Does anyone know of any Netflix-style rent-by-mail audiobook companies, apart from
Simply Audiobooks? I'm especially interested in outfits that have a good selection of
kids' books.

Hi I am addicted to audio books and have bought them and rented them
for years,
I belong to Audible.com and I download audio books to a Nano and
then listen to them on my care radio using a cassette tape
insert that was bought at Target. I know Audible has quite afew
childrens books. It is $15 a month for the rights to 1 download
and $20 I think for two Plus you get a bonus one for signing up.
Check them out. and have fun. We loved The Princess bride, when
we were on a long car trip with our kids years ago.
Depending on what format you need, a lot of libraries now offer
eAudioBooks... audio books in mp3 formats that you simply
download on-line. That could be a free solution to getting
some audio books you'd like
anon